Starring
by Scar13tt-Ivy Lochary
Summary: The continued adventures of Kat & Matt. The couple is happy together with their normal life, but will it stay that way?
1. Amazing April

**Starring** **1. Amazing April** _You were so misunderstood back then, but I think I get you now..._ It's funny really, how life changes so quickly. It's hard to believe that when I started my last year in school I was an average seventeen year old guy with a crush on a girl that everyone wanted. I didn't pay much attention to the weird girl in the school that nobody wanted to know. They didn't get her, and neither did I. It's sad that the only reason this changed is because I thought she died in my arms and I ran away. I saw her broken and weak and I couldn't bear it and ran. I hated myself for that, but she didn't. What's more shocking is that I fell very much in love with her. Now in only six months time everything has changed. I'm now 18 and happily dating that poor little kitten that no one wanted before and since I've gotten to know her I've only loved her more. I can't say things aren't tough sometimes. She can be very sensitive and nervous but that's not surprising considering what she's been through. I used to notice her and brush her off like lint, now I can't imagine living without her.

Today is Saturday, April 30th. It's our six month anniversary. We aren't going to do anything too special; I'm meeting her after work so we can go to Dublin together. We don't really have much of a plan. Just going to wander for a bit and have a good time. I get on the bus and get off when it reaches the stop near the shop she works in. I sit on a bench and wait for her happily. I spin my bracelet on my arm. I think back to the time I gave it to her. It was Christmas; I was over at her house. We were joking around and threw Tris her present then I lifted Kat onto my lap Santa style and I asked if she was a good girl. She must think I'm so corny. But she nodded and I gave her the present, her match to this bracelet. I remember exactly what I said... _"Don't ever take it off, okay? Keep it on your left arm and ill keep it on my right, so that no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be holding hands." _She was so happy then. She smiled, God I love her smile. It's beautiful.

Half an hour later she comes out looking sombre and sits beside me quietly. I throw my arms around her and give her a kiss and she grins. She's been sad for a while. "What's wrong kitty, bad day at work?" She shakes her head. "It's my last day at work. I quit." I look at her, shocked. "Don't you have to give a two weeks notice in or something?" She nods. "I did. Two weeks ago." She stands up and gets something out of her bag. "What's up with the umbrella?" I ask looking at the blue sky overhead. "Feels like its going to rain," she says quietly. I shake my head and laugh at her but not even five minutes later I'm put in my place and it starts bucketing rain and we're huddled under the umbrella waiting for our bus to come. "Hey Matt..?" she whispers softly. "Have you ever wanted to run

away?" I look at her worriedly. She was pale and looked tired, like something was troubling her and keeping her awake. She was getting nightmares again, she had told me. She won't tell me why or what about though. I stroke her cheek gently and kiss her softly. "No, I haven't." She sighs. "I have. I've done it many times..." She had told me about that before. I pull her close and hold her there for ages. She sighs and gets up with the umbrella. "The bus is here, let's have some fun." She smiles and holds my hand and we get on.

I walk out of work with my bag in hand. In gunna miss this place, I did like working here. I step outside and see Matt waiting for me by the bus stop. I walk over and sit beside him and he hugs me and kisses me. I grin. I don't want him to ever change, the loveable doofus. I should tell him. I should've told him sooner. No... I can't tell him now, lets have a good day and then I'll tell. His concerned voice breaks my concentration. "What's wrong kitty, Bad day at work?" "It's my last day at work. I quit." He looks very surprised at my announcement. I roll my eyes at him. "Don't you have to give a two week notice in or something?" I nod shyly. "I did, two weeks ago." He sits there and hugs me tightly and doesn't let go for a while so we just cuddle.

Some more time passes, I don't pay much attention. It starts to feel like its going to rain so I take out my umbrella. He laughs at first then it starts to rain. I look down sadly. I'll miss this. I wish I didn't have to do this... "Have you ever wanted to run away?" He looks at me sadly and says no. "I have. I've done it too..." He pulls me close and holds me until the bus comes. I love him so much. I wish I could show him.

We get on the bus and talk the whole way up. We talk about school, leaving cert exams coming up, and lots of other stuff. Then he asks about the future. "What do you wanna do after we graduate, Kat?" What I want to do and what I will do are probably going to be very different. I sigh and turn to him. "I _want_ to go to college to be a computer engineer. I want to settle down and have a nice job and live with someone nice and marry someone nice and have a nice family and to not have to move constantly." He smiles a little. "That sounds nice." He sticks his tongue out at me. "Do you have any idea who you want to be the one you settle down with?" I look at him sadly. "Yeah... Yeah I do." I whisper. I wish I could say "yes, it's you. I want to be yours forever" But that would be creepy, and it might not happen. He kisses me slowly and very meaningfully. I feel like I'm melting.

We get off and walk around. We go along O'Connell's street and cross the Ha'penny Bridge and walk through countless shops. By the time we reach Grafton's Street the sun has started setting. We walk past all the buskers and I watch them happily. He brings me into the McDonalds at the end of the street and gets us some food. "You seem to like the buskers." I nod. "I'll have to bring you back again sometime soon then. Would you like that?" I nod solemnly. I know that he probably won't be able. I go quiet and he gets worried. "Are you getting tired?" I nod and we start heading back to the bus stop and make it just in time to catch the bus home.

He walks me home and stays over that night. We lay in my bed and he holds me tight, kissing along my neck and running his hands over me. I know what that means. "Not tonight ok..?" I whisper shyly. He sighs. "Yeah, I'm used to it, not tonight, not last night, not any night. Guess I'll just have to marry you soon." He teases. I frown. "I take it you don't want me to marry you?" He jokes, but still looks hurt. I shake my head. "It's not that. I-I..." I can't tell him. The clock goes off and the next day starts. I have less than a week left. I have to tell him.


	2. Miserable May

**2. Miserable May** _This is me starring in the strangest nightmare..._ She stutters and I sit listening. "I'm leaving!" I sat up. "W-what..." "I'm leaving. My parents want me to go to this college they have picked out for me in America. They've gotten me the ticket and all. They only told me last week. Mum and dad say they miss me and they want me to come home so I'll be happy..." she rambled. I didn't catch most of what she was saying. "Kat," I look at her, she's crying very hard and I feel my eyes starting to get wet. "Kat, how much longer are you here?" She groans. "I'm leaving Wednesday." I flop back onto the bed. That soon, she's leaving that soon. I pull her into my chest and bury my face into her hair. I want to beg her not to go, to stay with me, but she's already said it's not her choice. She cries for hours and I'm surprised that I don't join in. I hold her tightly and breathe in her scent, willing myself to remember it. Her crying stops long enough for her to ask something I had been wondering myself. "Matt... Are you going to break up with me now?" I think for a minute and look down at her. She was so small and delicate and so adorable. She was sweet and scared that I would say yes. I grinned a little and held her tighter. "No." I said sternly. "No, I won't now, I won't when you're gone and I won't any other time either. I'll wait for you, because I want to be the one you settle down with." She pulls my face close to her and kisses me with such a passion. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She cries softly then I kiss her again. "I thought for the longest time that you were dead, and I still waited for you. Nothing will stop me now." She kisses me again and again, with so much emotion. All the sorrow and anger and joy and passion that she was feeling and that I was feeling were poured into each kiss and each touch. Finally she stops crying and I hold her against my chest and she wraps her arms tightly around me. "I'll come back to you," she whispers, "I promise." I spend every second I can with her. I stay with her every night at her house and all day. Tristis is obviously coping better than I am, but they're cousins, family. They grew up together and they're held together by blood. I would gladly cling to her forever, but I don't want to lose her. I always stay by her side. I've only let her out of my sight to use the bathroom or to shower, though she got in with me a couple times. Not that I would ever complain about that whatsoever. I helped her pack her bags, in other words, I held her from behind while she packed her stuff into a couple bags. She leaves a lot of stuff behind and Tristis says she'll keep it safe for when Kat comes back to us. Wednesday comes too fast. I skip school and Tristis drives us to the airport. The drive up is silent. Kat cries quietly and clings to me and I hold on tightly to her, not wanting to let go. We arrive at the airport and I carry her bags to the check in point. I stand with her in line the whole time and walk with her as far as I I have to leave. I hug her tightly, my grip on her getting firmer ad firmer. She starts sniffling and I hold onto her tighter. "I should go," she whispers. "No..." I let out involuntarily. "I love you." "I love you too." I kiss her and savour it. "Don't leave me..." I whisper. Her lip quivers and I let go. She takes her bag and steps through the gate and looks back with tears in her eyes. When she's out of sight I sink to the floor on my knees and put my head in my hands. I shouldn't have let go...I have to force myself to walk away. I go through everything but I'm not paying attention. I don't care anymore. Tris said goodbye at the car and that was ok, but it was so hard to leave Matt. I let no emotions through and felt nothing but numbness until I reached the waiting area for my flight. I sat down and saw a plane take off, and I bawled my eyes out until I'm called for boarding. I sit down in my seat and sort everything out, no big deal; I've done this countless times.I get out a book and try to read but I can't. I try sleeping but that fails too. The flight is long and tiring. I remember what it was like, living in America. I liked it, but I was so alone. I guess there are some things that I missed: Granddad, mum, Dad, Granny, the food, and sometimes just little things. But not really anything I would want to move for. I must admit, I would've loved this if it was just for a visit. I miss him so much. He made me happy. He still does.I daydream about him the whole eight hour flight. I had told my parents all about him, and he's met them before over Skype so they know him. Mum and dad greet me when I get off and I smile when I see them and hug them each tightly. They drive me home and we stop to go out and eat. When I get back I go straight to my old bedroom which is now inhabited by a little girl. My little sister always liked taking my stuff but she had completely taken over my room. I sigh. I had forgotten what it was like to share a room. I unpack and rest and start my computer to tell him I landed safely. We talk for hours until we both fall asleep. I spend weeks preparing for an entrance exam and talking to him in all my spare time. * * * I miss her so much. I talk to her everyday but its not the same, I miss feeling her against my skin, holding her, the way she looked when she slept... I sound like a creeper but I miss her. I spend every waking moment, and admittedly a good few sleeping ones, thinking about her. I try studying for my leaving cert but I can't focus. I miss her so much. She's been gone for nearly a month. In the time she's gone I've realised so much. First, she was an amazing person for putting up with me. Second, I can't stand being without her. My heart hurts. I swear I would do anything to get her back. I daydream about her a lot. They vary a lot, sometimes we're hanging out, or sleeping together but since she left I've been thinking about our future. Daydreaming about stuff like if we will get married and have kids and living together and stuff, I actually want to spend my life with her. I've never told her that though. I wonder if I ever will. I think it's funny how true that old saying is, the one that says you don't know what you had till you lost it. * * * I walk downstairs and start making tea sadly. All the time I've been here keeps reminding me of my past. It's making me feel doomed. Today I must take my entrance exam and fill out the forms. Dad comes down and looks at me. He sits beside me. "You miss it don't you?" I ask him. "Yeah, yeah I do." he responds. "Why do you stay?" He looks at me sadly. "Well, this is where your mother wants to stay; this is where she's from. I make sacrifices to be with her and she does too but we're happy." "Why does she want to stay put?" "We saw how bad all the moving hurt you growing up. We didn't want the other kids to feel it too." Anger starts to boil in me. I was their test dummy and now that they saw how bad they screwed me up they're treating the younger kids best. Then my anger fades... For as long as I can remember I was raising those kids myself. They cried when I left, I cried when I left. I was happy to see them face to face again. "I feel weird, dad..." He looks concerned. I sigh. "Well, before I left for Ireland I was so lonely, so unhappy. The main thing that kept me going was taking care of the kids. Then I started to settle in there. I made friends, I was so happy and now I see that the kids are all growing up. I'm an adult now and want to start my own life. I want to see what they become, but as their sister now. I want to save the mothering for my own kids which I hope to have." He sighs. "You're in love with that boy aren't you?" I nod shyly as my grandfather walks in to get his coffee. "I can't imagine living without him. He's my best friend, closest confidant, and love of my life. I think I could very happily spend my life with him." Dad rolls his eyes. "You're too young to know what you want." My grandfather walks past and kisses my head. "Don't go telling her that. She's spent her whole life being told that. She's a mature young lady and an adult now. Her grandmother and I got marry when we were 20. Two years older than she is now. Here we are 47 years later and I still love her." With that he walks out. I smile and think about how great that would be...marrying Matt, living together and having a family and growing old together... Dad watches me and grins a little. "He better let you visit." I smile. "He's always wanted to visit here. I'm sure we could make it for Christmas and Easter." Dad shakes his head and I leave to do my test. "Don't forget to send in that form today. If you don't I won't be allowed in." The test was easy and I have a free half hour after the testing. I've been here nearly a whole month. I've been helping Matt study for the leaving cert a lot. I drive home and go straight to bed. The next day I wake up and the college letter is beside my bed. Mum is downstairs crying and dad is comforting her. I come down and ask why he hasn't sent it. He hands me an envelope. I open it. Never. No way. I throw my arms around him. 


	3. Runaways & Reunions

**3. Runaway & Reunion** _Honestly nothing ever made sense except when you were next to me... And we have the rations to go anywhere..._ I trudge home from school as usual. Leaving cert is in two weeks and I've heard nothing from Kat. I miss her so much. The door is unlocked so I walk straight in and call out. I'm the only one at home. I go straight to my room and drop my stuff onto the floor in astonishment. There's a packed bag on my bed; the packed bag that I always kept at Kat's. There's a note on top. /Run away with me/ I think back to what Kat said before she left. _"Have you ever wanted to run away?_ I turn the note over and smile. _Flight 137 should land in Dublin around 6 pm today_. That cheeky girl, she probably had Tristis set this up. I grab the bag and write a note saying I've gone out for a while and run like hell to the bus with the biggest grin on my face. I'm jumpy the whole ride up and arrive at the airport around 5:45 pm. I make my way through everything and everyone and stand in the baggage claim waiting. I see her back go around and my heart starts racing. I pick it up and wait for her. It feels like a century of waiting but then I see her. Beautiful long red hair, that seemed lighter, she also has more freckles, must've been the sun over there. She looks as beautiful as ever. I run over and scoop her up and twirl her around and kiss her with more depth, more passion, and more meaning than ever before. She holds tightly to me and when we finally break apart I see tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you so much." I hold her and refuse to let go this time. She carries her bag and I carry her to the bus stop and I hold her the whole ride home. There is just one nagging question I had. "Kitty?" "Yes?" "Why are you here?" * * * I open the envelope. No way. Never. I throw my arms around my father and thank him. A plane ticket to Ireland. "Consider it your seventeenth and eighteenth birthday present combo." "But why? You said you missed me." "Well, we enjoyed spending a whole month with you and we figured, what's the point of spending thousands of dollars a year for you to be here and miserable when you could go to the same school online for a grand a year and you'd be content. You will be getting visited more often though." I throw my arms around him and my mum. "I think I can live with that. This is the nicest thing you've ever done for me, thank you." I throw my arms around them again and run upstairs to repack all of my bags. I finish mine and think back to my conversation with Matt. Maybe we should run away for a bit. I run over to get my phonebook and the telephone and punch in some numbers. I stand there as it rings, once, twice, three times... "Hello?" * * * She falls asleep on the ride home and I cradle her, kissing her head and holding her close, still not letting go. She looks like a porcelain doll. I kiss her gently and she begins to stir. I look out the window and realise something. We didn't look at what bus we got on. We just got on one. We pass a sign saying welcome to Carlow. Kat sits up. "Kitty, we're in Carlow." She smiles. "Lovely, I like Carlow, there was a song about it." "Kitty. Why are we in Carlow?" She smiles at me. "We're running away remember?" She rolls her eyes at me "To Carlow though?" She sits up and looks outside. "We'll get off the next stop. I know a place." We get off and Kat starts walking. "Where are we going?" I ask, following her obediently. She giggles. "To a cheap b&b. ah here it is." She turns down into a long drive and knocks on the door. I hold her hand tightly. "Don't let on we're only 18 ok? They might not let us stay." "How old will they think we are?" I ask. "Well, with your height and my figure... 22 maybe." A woman answers the door with a smile. "Hello, welcome. Come on in. Would you like a room?" Kat smiles, "Yes please, €40 for a night yea?" The woman nods and Kat hands it over. She leads us to our room and gives us the key. "I hope you and your girlfriend sleep well." I feel something stir in my heart. I call out after her. "She's my wife, actually." I wink at Kat and she looks stunned. "Why'd you tell her that?" She asks incredulously. "Because someday I want it to be true." I smile. Her legs shake a little and I scoop her up and carry her bride style through the door and lay her in the bed. "So I'm your wife for the night am I?" she asks jokingly. I like that idea. "Only because you aren't my wife forever yet." "What's gotten into you with all the wife stuff now?" She asks sceptically. I've been waiting for a chance like this. I sit beside her and take her hands in mine. "I've missed you so much while you were gone. I've thought about you nonstop and with all that time I spent thinking I realised something. That I don't ever want to have to live without you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to be the one I settle down with and come home to every night. I want to have a family of my own with you and want you to be mine forever" Her eyes start to water and her lip quivers. "I don't want all that to happen." She says quietly. I would've been hurt if I didn't know what that smile meant. "I need all that to happen. I left my family and college and kids because I couldn't live with out you. I know we're still a bit young now but I want that more than anything." I hold her tightly. "Then make me a promise. Marry me. Someday, not necessarily in a few months or a year, but someday, will you marry me?" I feel the heat rising in my face. She nods and smiles, "yeah, yeah I will." I hold her against me. "Guess it looks like we're officially engaged to be engaged." She frowns. "I thought that tonight I was your wife?" She said with a slight smirk and a raised eyebrow. I smile and jump on her knocking her back onto the bed. "Yep, you're my wife for right now." I grin. And soon the rest of forever. She stands up and gets undressed. "W-w-what are you doing?" I stammer. "I've got to take a shower. Wanna come?" She steps into the shower and I follow quickly after her. She smiles at me and shiver a little. I really missed her... * * * He stepped in behind me in the shower. Lay my head back against his chest and sigh happily. He runs his hands down my front and wraps his arms firmly around my waist so I'm pulled against him. I turn around and burrow my face into his chest. This is the closest we've gotten in ages. He rests his chin on my head and kisses the top of my head and strokes my a while I quickly wash my hair and we get out and ready for bed. I pull on one of my nightdresses and climb in beside him. He holds me in the crook of his arm and I rest my head on his chest. "I've missed you kitty." He kisses my cheek and wraps an arm around my waist. "I missed you too." I kiss his neck gently and he smiles. "That feels nice." He shivers a little. "Are you cold?" I ask him. He shakes his head and rolls on top of me. "Whatcha doing up there?" I ask him. "Well, I've missed you very much..." He kisses along my neck gently. "And since you're my wife for tonight..." I look at him and grin. "Can't argue with that logic can I?" He fist pumps and tackles me onto the bed. * * * I wake up early the next morning and see that for the first time in months, Kat is beside me sleeping soundly. I watch her and smile. Maybe now she'll let me wear her out more often. It's cute though. I think I want to wake up every morning to a sleeping Kat wearing nothing but my old t-shirt from now on. I'm glad she's finally getting some sleep. The flight must've worn her out yesterday, and no doubt she'll be hungry, she's always hungry. She stirs a little and turns to her side. She's so cute. I can't help myself and reach out to stroke her cheek. She begins to purr in her sleep and I kiss her nose gently. "Wakey wakey Mrs. Madden, c'mon, let's get some food." "But I thought I was just going to be your wife for last night." She grumbled. "I've decided that I like having you play that role so I'm giving you an extended run." She smiles and sits up sleepily, stretching and yawning before walking over and getting dressed. I pull on my jeans and grab a shirt out of the bag she kept for me. "Kitty?" I ask. She mumbles a sleepy yes. "Why did you come back?" I finish. She stops then turns around and looks at me. "I'll tell you later." And with that she kisses me cheekily and we go down and to get a lovely breakfast before we decide on where to go on our next destination and what adventure we'd have next. * * * I sit at the table across from him, waiting for him to finish his meal. I was still hungry from yesterday so I wolfed mine down but he was taking his time. This has been quite an adventure. I don't really want it to stop yet. "Matt?" I ask nervously. "Yeah?" he responds mid-bite. "What if we keep running? Not forever, just for this weekend." He pauses for a minute. "That sounds great." He smiles and kisses my head then continues eating his food. * * * We go pack our stuff and run out just in time to catch the bus home. "So, how was America, Kitty? Did you bring me anything back?" I turn and ask her but she's gazing out the window. I put one arm around her waist and smile down at her and she smiles weakly and nods and pulls a wrapped box out of her backpack. I look at it, not very thick and it I pull off the wrapping and the bubble wrap and smile. "It's us..." I look at the frame and close my eyes, remembering when Tris took the pictures. _Kat was complaining about me never smiling for pictures or getting in them with her. I didn't realise at the time that she probably wanted to remember the fun we had together after she left. I finally agreed to let Tristis take some pictures of the two of us. We walked beside the lake hand-in-hand, and then we sat on the pier and watched the sun setting. When it was dark she jumped on my back and kissed my neck and I carried her home after she fell asleep on my lap..._ I kiss her head and she grins. I like that grin, it always means more. "So what's the thing you haven't given me yet?" I look at her with a raised eyebrow and she pulls out a book. Not just any book, a sketchbook. "I had some spare time, and I really missed you..." she mumbles quietly. "I love you, I love it, I love the pictures and the frame and the drawings, but I love you so much." I kiss her deeply and smile at her. I flick through the sketchbook and marvel at what I see. Page after page of drawings of us, our future, our past, things we pretended. There were some comics and short stories and a couple poems but one thing that got me was a song on the middle of the book. I read the lyrics and smiled then poked Kat. She stirred and turned to me. I hold up the page to her. "Will you sing it for me?" I grin expectantly. She smiles and the bus screeches into our stop. We get off and walk to the lake stopping to get some lunch. We walk past the lake and through the forest until we reach the boathouse. I keep asking her to sing it for me. We sit on the wall beside the boathouse looking out over the lake. She eats her curry and shakes her head no. "Kitty, please will you sing it for me. It looks so nice, I want to hear it." She rolls her eyes and finishes her food and takes a drink. She turns to me "Okay, I'll sing it." I cheer and smile, and then I kiss her on the cheek triumphantly. She clears her thought and takes another drink. She closes her eyes and starts to sing, soft and sweet and soulful. I watch her mouth form the words and listen to the melody and smile. She sings: "_Our futures were written with keyboards in multiple lines,_ _ Where we misspelled and typo'd a lot, but we thought it was fine._ _ Like the crooked hem of my favourite kitty cat ears,_ _ And the holes in your memories from fading over years,_ _ I know since we've grown we ache for those memories,_ _ But honestly nothing's ever compared to you next to me..._ _When my words went to you for the first time you knew you were hooked,_ _ And the pride that I felt on the last page of my first book_ _ And the bravery you forced when you first told me you loved me..._ _ It took a million costumes just for you to find the one that's me_ _ And I know since we've grown we plead for clarity_ _ But honestly nothing made more sense then you next to me..._ _If time was money... I'd spend my whole wait for you_ _ I'd buy a ticket with the days after I fle,w_ _ Turn lost hours into memories; hold each other every day,_ _ I'll be reckless in my ways... and creative in your name..._ _ And I know since we've grown we long for concrete things_ _ But honestly nothing can compare to you next to me, next to me..._ _ So forget about the ocean & gather all the memories that we're due_ _ 'cuz there nothing in this world we cant fix between me and you..."_ She opens her eyes on the last note and she smiles then wipes her eyes a little. I wrap my arms around her, kiss her and burry my face in her hair. "That was so beautiful...I love you so much..." 


End file.
